Property owners accuse city, Streets & Sanitation commissioner of wrongful demolition

Two Cook County residents are suing over claims the City of Chicago demolished their property without notifying them.

Thomas and Casalear Gross filed a lawsuit Aug. 18 in Cook County Circuit Court against the city and Charles L. Williams.

According to the complaint, Williams, the commissioner of Chicago's Department of Streets & Sanitation, ordered the demolition of the Gross' property on West 71st Street. Thomas Gross claims he was not notified of the plans to demolish the property and  learned of them from a neighbor.

He alleges he attempted to stop the demolition but police said they could not intervene, resulting in the Aug. 19, 2013 demolition of the property, as well as the removal of certain personal property from the premises, including vintage automobiles.

The plaintiffs accuse the defendants of wrongful demolition, unlawful taking, inverse condemnation, negligence and conversion.

They are seeking more than $30,000 in damages and are being represented by attorney Mark Lara of Lara Legal in Chicago.

The case number is Cook County Circuit Court case 2014L008634.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it only represents one side of the story.